


The Ranboo Adoption Arc

by noseances



Category: Dream SMP - Fandom, Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Fluff and Angst, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Knives Mention, Literal Sleeping Together, Not Canon Compliant, Panic Attacks, RANBOOS A MINOR, Snowed In, Technoblade POV - Freeform, This is completely platonic, its a bottle episode babes, platonic, rated teen for description of a panic attack, set before Jan 15 but after the 6th
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-17
Updated: 2021-02-07
Packaged: 2021-03-15 20:35:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 5,032
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28819353
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/noseances/pseuds/noseances
Summary: Okay, so it was Ranboo that was curled into a ball on his floor, but that didn't explain why he was here and not, say, in his bed outside.Techno opened his communicator to shoot a quick message to Phil when he saw a notification from half an hour before.Ph1LzA: Snowstorm incoming- I let Ranboo in so he doesn't freeze to death.Ah.
Relationships: Ranboo & Technoblade (Video Blogging RPF)
Comments: 74
Kudos: 1540





	1. In Which The Blade Has To Socialize

**Author's Note:**

> hey gang, just carving a lil space for myself because canon moves too dang fast.

Techno opened his front door to a sleeping figure that was very much not Philza Minecraft. Taking a second to lower his sword slightly, he took a step towards the intruder and cringed when Chat erupted in a chorus of _RANBOOs_.

Okay, so it was Ranboo that was curled into a ball on his floor, but that didn't explain why he was here and not, say, in his bed outside.

Techno opened his communicator to shoot a quick message to Phil when he saw a notification from half an hour before.

Ph1LzA: Snowstorm incoming- I let Ranboo in so he doesn't freeze to death.

Ah.

Now that he thought about it, the weather had gotten pretty rough around halfway through Techno's return trip from one of the Woodland Mansions scattered around the server. He locked the front door behind him and stepped around Ranboo to put some of the loot in storage. It was kind of a struggle to find space in the disorganized mess in his chests, but he shoved most of it in the corner of one of them and resolved to sort it later.

_Ranboo's cold!_  
_E_  
_TECHNOSUPPORT_  
_HELP RANBOO_  
_coldboo!!_

He sighed and turned to look down at the kid. Sure enough, Ranboo had started to shiver on the floor of his cabin, curling further into himself.

Edward apparently decided to make himself known then, _vworp_ ing softly. Despite being extremely rusty in Galactic, Techno understood the order to help the kid.

"I don't see you helpin' him," he whispered.

Edward was still for a moment, probably pointedly looking at the boat he was sitting in.

Techno sighed and shrugged off his cloak. "Bruh, you're so lazy. I've seen you leave the boat."

 _Vworp_. Probably a scathing remark. Techno draped the cloak over the shivering kid and pulled some logs from his bag, starting a fire to heat the place up. Then, he snuck up the ladder to his bed and dropped onto it, losing consciousness.

\-- -- --

Techno awoke with the rising of the sun and the smell of something baking. Someone was making noise downstairs. It took him a moment to remember the night before, rubbing his eyes with the heel of his hand. Sighing, he slipped out of bed and grabbed his glasses from the nightstand.

_Wakey Wakey!_  
_E._  
_go back to sleep._  
_E_  
_E_

Descending the ladder quietly, Techno saw Ranboo hovering over the furnace in the kitchen, making- was that bread? Where did he get the wheat? Techno cleared his throat.

Ranboo jumped. "Ah! Techno. Sorry for waking you, Phil let me in? I mean, he more firmly told me than anything, but. Uh, good morning?"

It was too early for this. Techno grunted and stepped towards the front door, groggily hoping to escape the awkward rambling.

"Oh! uh, I wouldn't-"

Techno unlocked and opened the door, looking out to see a solid block of snow that piled about three fourths up the doorway. Huh.

He closed the door and turned around to sit on a chest, deflating.

_GAVE UP AT A LITTLE SNOW? L_  
_Bottle episode!_  
_L_  
_BOTTLE EPISODE. F_  
_🦀YARD IS GONE🦀_  
_F RIP L_

"Uh." Ranboo stood for a bit before slowly turning back to the furnace, pulling out three bread loaves and offering one to Techno. "Breakfast?"

"I'm not hungry," Techno said in response.

"Mhm," Ranboo hummed, drawing his hand back and gingerly placing the loaf on top of the furnace before passing the second to Edward, who _vworp_ ed happily. He took a bite from the final loaf.

Techno sighed. He seemed to be doing that a lot recently. "You're leavin' as soon as this snow is gone."

"Of course, I'll be out of your hair!"

Techno grunted.


	2. In Which The Blade Sorts His Chests

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> forever grateful to my friends for helping me make this as awkward as possible.

Given his inability to leave the cabin, Techno found his schedule wide open. Deciding it was the perfect time to sort his storage chests, he stood up from his makeshift seat and pointed at Ranboo. "Don't touch anythin'." 

Ranboo brought his hands up in surrender, eyes wide. Techno turned sharply and dropped down the ladder to his storage room, sidestepping Bob and opening the chest that held his weakness arrows.

There was only a stack left, supply depleted from Tommy's stay. Techno grabbed the arrows and the few stacks of gapples he had left, storing them in his bag. Now that the important stuff was hidden, he set to work sorting through the junk that was left. 

It was fairly straightforward, if a little tedious. He never had enough space in his bag to transfer the contents of a full chest, so he stuck to a few items at a time. Lots of dirt and stone, quite a few potions he didn't care very much about, a few logs. 

He was shaken from his cleaning trance when Ranboo knocked on the ceiling next to the ladder. 

"What?" He grunted. 

"Uh, it's kinda late. Have you eaten?" The kid sounded nervous. 

Right. He had forgotten to eat. His stomach grumbled. "I'll get somethin' later."

"Okay, well. There's some steak in the chest upstairs if you want it," Ranboo said.

His stomach grumbled again. 

_ EAT SOMETHING _

_ LOSER CAN'T EVEN REMEMBER TO EAT _

_ L _

_ Shut up chat! he just forgot! _

_ EEEEEEE _

Couldn't he avoid Ranboo in peace? 

Techno sighed and climbed up the ladder as Ranboo scrambled back from his position on the floor. He walked over to the aforementioned chest, grabbed a few steaks, and sat down on top of the chest to eat. 

Ranboo stood up and watched him awkwardly for a few minutes, looking away when Techno looked back at him. 

"How bad is it out?" He asked. 

Ranboo jumped. "Uh, worse. It's, uh. The snow's higher than the doorway?" 

"That's," Techno paused. "Not ideal."

"Heh, yeah," Ranboo said. He looked sideways towards Edward, then back towards Techno. When they made eye contact, Ranboo looked away. 

It was clear he wanted to fill the silence but didn't quite know how. It struck Techno how different Ranboo was from Tommy. He was quiet and hesitant, a little fidgety. He hadn't bothered Techno while he was sorting, hadn't dug through his chests and stolen anything. 

It was refreshing, almost. It was about time someone respected him. 

Ranboo coughed a little, leaning back onto the furnace, hands coming back to brace himself. There was a crunch. Ranboo lifted his hand, crumbs from the now crushed bread loaf from that morning stuck to it. He shook his arm a little and the crumbs fell onto the floor. 

"Uh," he said, crouching down to pick them up, other hand coming down onto the loaf in the process. Crunch. "Um."

Techno snorted as the kid lifted his hand from the loaf gingerly, trying to pick the crumbs up off the floor with his other hand.

Ranboo smiled nervously. "Uh, sorry."

Techno cursed himself for not having a trash can. He stood up and grabbed the loaf, climbing up the ladder with one hand and tossing it out the attic window. Ranboo followed, dropping a handful of crumbs outside. 

A chorus of  _ RIP LOAF _ s _.  _

Edward  _ vworp _ ed from downstairs and Ranboo laughed a little. At the tilt of Techno's head, he said, "Your roommate made a joke. It, uh, kinda doesn't translate. I guess it's more of a pun?" 

He brought his right hand up to his arm, scratching slightly. "Uh, 'cuz 'bread' sounds kind of like 'death' in Galactic, so."

Techno hummed and closed the window. "Sounds hilarious."


	3. In Which The Blade Fills a Crater

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> notes at the end so as not to spoil the chapter

It was a new morning, and Techno awoke to find Ranboo still downstairs sleeping and the snow still covering the doorway. It completely blocked the windows as well, despite it being the second floor of the cabin. It was dark aside from the torches on the wall. 

Technoblade: Phil. Phil where are you. 

Ph1LzA: I'm in L'Manhole, figured it would be a good time to scavenge. 

Technoblade: You've left me with a child. 

Ph1LzA: It's fine, Ranboo's a good kid. 

Sure. So was Tommy, yet he still ended up betraying Techno with no remourse. 

He had told himself he wouldn't do this, but he still felt the urge to dig down into the Tommy hole. He had a new, unspecified gap of time in his schedule now. It probably needed to be filled for the integrity of the house above, or something. He wasn't dwelling on the past. He wasn't. 

Techno grabbed some dirt from his newly sorted storage chests and dug a hole into the crater's entrance, dropping into it. He started filling up the hole, going one layer at a time up from the bottom. 

Techno was man enough to admit that it still stung, and the arrows and gapples in his bag were proof that he wasn't eager to repeat that mistake. He shouldn't have made it in the first place. 

He knew now that he was just a weapon to everyone but Phil, more monster than man. Tommy's words from before still echoed in his mind, mingling with chat's neverending roar. 

_People are above the government._

Hypocrite. Techno was a person. 

If his hands shook or his eyes shone, no one was there to see it. He blinked hard. There was no way the great Technoblade was crying about the loss of a business partner. That's all they were, after all. They weren't even close. 

_oh no hes wallowing_

_loser_

_this isnt very poggers_

_L_

_kinda pathetic ngl_

_blood for the blood god? revenge?_

With that remark from chat, he unfroze himself, quickly finishing the job of filling the hole and slipping back up into the basement. 

Techno reached out to Bob, scratching behind her ear. She moo'd and butted her head into his hand. He smiled, using both hands to give her a quick pet and turning around to go find something to eat. 

Ranboo was awake, sitting criss cross with his back to the ladder and listening intently as Edward _vworp_ ed. 

"Mhm. Yeah, no, I get it," he said. "It's much better in here, I just don't get why you're in the boat."

_Vworp_. 

"Mhm. I guess that makes sense?"

Edward gestured to Ranboo and then the boat. 

"Oh, no. I don't- well, maybe. Maybe." 

Techno didn't find it amusing. He absolutely did not soften at the interaction. Shut up chat. 

He cleared his throat and Ranboo jumped slightly, turning around with wide eyes. 

"Have you eaten?" Techno asked, quoting Ranboo from the day before. 

"I think I had some had some steak earlier, but its been a while so I'll probably eat some more steak soon."

That was kind of a weird way to word it. "You think?"

Ranboo nodded slightly. "It's- I have some pretty bad memory issues? I'm pretty sure I ate some 'cuz I'm not starving, but I'm not a hundred percent on that." 

Instead of answering verbally, Techno nodded and grabbed some potatoes from a chest, popping them in the furnace to cook. 

When they were ready he pulled them out, ignoring how hot the potatoes were and taking a bite from one. Swallowing, he asked, "What did you do yesterday?"

Ranboo relaxed a bit. If Techno was any good at reading people, he would even say the kid lit up. He brought out a book and skimmed a page while speaking. "Mostly talked to Edward. I also messaged Mr. Phil a bit about my pets. They were still outside when the storm started but he said he dug them a little shelter so they should be fine. He also said the snow should be mostly clear in about a week, which is cool. Um, I saw you were sorting some chests?"

He finished the potato. "Yeah, they've been messy for a while." 

After some short conversation and a couple of potatoes, Techno decided he was done socializing. He climbed up the ladder to his attic-slash-bedroom and dug around his bookshelf, pulling a worn leatherbound book out. It had been a while since he read it, and in the spirit of finally having the time to get around to things he had been meaning to do, Techno opened it and sat on his bed. 

Now was as good a time as any to brush up on the Art of War.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> feel like now is a good time to say i dont share techno's opinions about tommy. i think they were both in the wrong and that tommy didn't expect techno to immediately turn around and team up with the man that abused him. i also think techno is right in calling it a betrayal, tommy left him to a 20v1 after agreeing to a business partnership


	4. In Which The Blade Does Some Trading

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TRIGGER/CONTENT WARNING! This chapter contains description of a panic attack. please take care of yourself.
> 
> also, this chapter has some of my art in it

_It is the unemotional, reserved, calm, detached warrior who wins, not the hothead seeking vengeance and not the ambitious seeker of fortune._

Funny how quickly Techno had forgotten this. 

Had he blown up L'Manburg solely because it represented everything wrong with government? Was there a sliver of himself that did it out of vengeance? Was that why his victory seemed so hollow? 

He succeeded, no question about that, but now that it was done, he had nothing. The feeling of victory was so short lived it felt false. He had let himself get emotional, caught up in caring for people, and having to see them fail to extend the same care hurt. 

It truly had been too long since Techno read something that made him think. Perhaps the snow-in was useful in pulling him back and forcing him to reevaluate. 

More likely, it was leading him in a cycle of feeling bad for himself and then trying to better himself and feeling bad for himself when he fails and, well. Techno knew himself. He knew his self proclaimed "retirement" was part of that cycle. He knew blowing up L'Manburg was a part of that as well. 

Trying to step back and read to better himself was something he'd done before. He set the book down on the bed. 

A quick glance to the window revealed it was night. Techno slipped down the ladder, nodding to Edward and Ranboo's sleeping form and grabbing some emeralds. If he couldn't read without ending up psychoanalyzing himself, he could at least do some trading. 

The villagers were awake, surprisingly. Despite not having windows or any way of telling how late at night it was, they tended to find a way to roughly approximate a day/night cycle. 

Halfway through trading for ender pearls, Techno heard Orphan ask about "the scary half enderman."

He snorted. Ranboo was many things, but scary was not one of them. The kid tripped over his own feet about three times a day. "Ranboo? Why are you askin'?"

Orphan shrugged. Hummed a bit, which Techno didn't really understand much of. Something about brotherhood? 

Techno waved goodbye to the villagers and climbed up the ladder, stopping to pet Bob again. Hubert grunted something at him he didn't understand. 

Maybe he should learn some languages. 

The piglin sighed and gestured upstairs. Techno glanced at Moon, who was gesturing as well, albeit less enthusiastically. 

He followed their direction and rushed upstairs, expecting a fire or broken glass or Dream, finding only Ranboo, curled in the far corner. 

Edward was faced towards him, _vworp_ ing gently. At Techno's entrance, he turned and waved him over. 

The kid was rocking, hands over his ears and muttering quietly in between gasps for air. If he saw Techno, he didn't acknowledge it. 

Techno squatted down about a foot away from the kid. The mutters grew a bit louder, more understandable. 

They were mostly "no"s and "you're not real"s and "I didn't!"s. 

Techno was way too underqualified to deal with this. What would Phil do in a situation like this? What did he do when Techno got like this?

"Hey, kid. If you can hear me, I need you to breathe, okay?" 

No response. If anything, Ranboo's breathing was getting quicker. 

Okay. Alright. Techno could do this. Everything was okay. "Ranboo, can you breathe with me?" Techno took a big breath in and slowly let it out. He saw Ranboo turn his head slightly towards him. 

Techno tried to make eye contact, but Edward made a warning sound. What? Oh, right. Endermen and eye contact. Techno looked to the side, breathing in and out again. 

In and out. 

"I'm in front of you, Ranboo, and Edward is here. We're in my kitchen. There are still crumbs from the bread yesterday on the floor."

In and out. 

Phil always did this for him, describing their surroundings to ground Techno and help drown out the voices. 

After a couple minutes of this, Ranboo had slowed his breathing to soft hiccups. His hands were still clenched around his ears, but he was mostly present in the moment. 

Techno was back in unfamiliar territory. "Do- Do you want me to touch your shoulder?" 

Ranboo shook his head and rushed forward into Techno, hands around his shoulders in a- was this a hug? Is that what a hug felt like? 

Ranboo sniffed. Sniffed again. Let out a small, dry sob. 

Techno brought his hands slowly up to Ranboo's back, patting in a halted attempt at a soothing pattern. He dropped his shoulders, shifting from the squat to a sitting position. He started humming. 


	5. In Which The Blade Sleeps

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> chapters will prob come out at a slower pace bc im losing the hyperfixation

Ranboo had fallen asleep. Techno had an asleep child in his arms. An asleep child that he knew nothing about. An asleep child that he didn't even trust, why had he let this child hug him? 

_ SLEEPY BOY _

_ TECHNODAD _

_ YEAHHH FATHERHOOD  _

_ EEEEEEEEEEEE _

_ WHAT WERE YOU HUMMING _

_ YEAH THE PEOPLE NEED TO KNOW _

/ _ rainbowchat _

Chat was insufferable as always. He huffed. 

There was no way he was this kid's father, Techno barely knew him. He was a citizen of L'Manburg and someone he'd only known for a month, even if half of that was spent as neighbors. 

Actually, why didn't he know anything about Ranboo? It had been, what, two days of isolation together? An aforementioned half month as neighbors? And he hadn't talked to the kid for more than fifteen minutes. That wasn't very "know your enemy" of him. 

So, what did he know?

1: Ranboo is half enderman. 

2: He has a terrible memory. 

3: He's a minor???? probably????

4: He had been in the butcher army sent to execute him. 

5: He kept giving Techno things. His armor, bread, steak. 

6: He didn't seem bothered by Techno, just nervous. Anxiety, maybe? 

Whatever it was, he didn't seem to have it with Phil, because he had been exchanging texts with the man the other day. If Phil thought he was okay, maybe it was fine. Maybe he wasn't going to betray Technoblade and steal his stuff. Maybe he wasn't going to treat him like a weapon. Maybe, if he didn't do any of that stuff, the kid could stay. 

_ AWWWWWW _

_ HE'S GONE SOFT _

_ TECHNOSOFT _

_ TECHNOSOFT _

_ i said it once and i'll say it again: TECHNODAD _

Or not. Techno stood, gently extracting himself from the sleeping Ranboo. He checked the chests on that floor for firewood, then dropped down the ladder to check his storage chests. Nothing. Maybe he missed some in his inventory? 

He checked the upstairs chests again. The storage chests again, going one by one. 

Well, that may be a problem. It was almost sunrise, but the snow was still submerging most of the cabin. It would get cold with no wood to feed a fire. 

Techno turned to Ranboo's sleeping form. The kid was still asleep, curled tight around himself. 

Edward  _ vworp _ ed a soft "thank you," and. Edward was attached to the kid now. Techno was the last bastion of rationality when it came to Ranboo. 

The kid shivered. 

Ranboo was in his arms now, snoring softly. Techno was crawling up the ladder and dropping the kid onto the only bed. He was curled around the kid, protective and warm. 

With a tall, shivering child in his arms, Techno fell asleep. 

  
  
  



	6. In Which The Blade Makes Tea and Hugs a Child

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> TW again for a minor panic attack! also vague descriptions of knives and stabbing. also a sentence or two that talks about piss without saying piss? i dunno dog.

Techno's sleep was never dreamless. There were always flashes of the books he read, or nonsensical flashes of color and setting, or nightmares that set themselves in the past. Sometimes, they were completely indistinct, fading quickly when he awoke. Sometimes, he remembered them vividly, recalling them even years after they happened. 

Only the worst ones were recurring. 

There was one, hazy from the years of distance from his childhood, when he first had it. It was empty. He was alone. He would always be alone in that nightmare, years passing and no one appearing. He would die alone. 

There was another, where everyone he had ever trusted was lined up. Sometimes, he could see their faces clear as day, dripping with disgust. Sometimes, he couldn't see their faces at all. He held a knife out, and one by one they would take it, aiming for his-

Well. That one got gruesome quickly. 

The newest recurring nightmare was one of flashing lights. He would see them in the distance, glittering. He would stand from his dirt pit- he never noticed he was sitting in one until he got up- and make the long journey towards the lights. When he got there hours later, he would smell gunpowder. Or maybe he wouldn't, smells never happened in his dreams, but he would know he was smelling it. The lights would be unbearable, burning his skin, exploding. He would wake up. 

Techno woke up, still smelling gunpowder. He took a few deep breaths, attempting to slow his heart. Vision still fuzzy, he reached towards the dark mass directly in front of him. 

It was shivering. Not in a cold way, the mass was warm to the touch, but in a stuttering, sobbing way. His hand was flat on what felt like a back. He was sure it was a back, because there was someone's spinal cord, poking out. 

Why did he still smell gunpowder?

He was up and across the room in a second, snatching his glasses off the side table and shoving them on. He glanced around, comforted in knowing there was just one unknown person in the room and- Ranboo. It was Ranboo. 

Techno sighed. He had brought the kid to his bed after a panic attack. Now, it looked like the kid was having a nightmare. 

Did he wake Ranboo up? Would that make it worse? How did he wake him up? Techno wasn't sure if the kid would be okay with anyone touching him to wake him up. Did he need to wake the kid up? Should he just make breakfast and help the kid calm down after he was up? 

Ranboo whimpered. 

Techno crossed the room to the bed, placing his hand on Ranboo's back, again. He rubbed it in circles, placing his other hand on the kid's shoulder and slowly shaking. "Ranboo. Kid, it's okay."

Ranboo was still shaking, and the gunpowder smell got stronger. Worried, Techno gently flipped the kid over. He was crying, bright red tear streaks down his face. They were steaming, the red growing angrier with the second. That did not look good. 

Techno bunched his sleeve in his hand and pressed it under an eye, dabbing the tears. Ranboo's eyes flew open, and he flinched hard. 

Techno drew his hand back, taking his other off Ranboo's back. He put his hands up in a surrender pose. "Hey, kid. It's okay, just me. Sorry for touchin' your face, that probably didn't help."

Ranboo sniffed. Paused a bit, probably still processing his surroundings. "Techno?"

"Yeah?"

"Can I hug you?" Techno must have paused too long, because he immediately started backtracking. "I mean, only if you're okay with it! I don't want to-"

He was interrupted by a facefull of Techno's shoulder, enveloping him in a hug. Ranboo sniffed. Sniffed again. Wrapped his arms around Techno's middle and sobbed. 

Texhno knew the kid was speaking, he felt the fabric of his shirt move with Ranboo's lips, but he couldn't make out any words. He resumed rubbing circles in the kid's back. He breathed slowly, in for four and out for four. Techno felt Ranboo try to copy his breathing through his sobs. 

The kid was hunched over drastically to fit under his arms, which almost made him laugh. 

They sat like that for a long time, Ranboo slowly calming down, only sniffing occasionally. Techno shifted, extracting himself from the kid's arms. Ranboo looked up. 

"Don't worry, just gettin' breakfast," Techno said, dropping down the ladder and checking his chests. 

Edward grumbled what Techno thought was a "Morning" in Galactic, clearly still half asleep. Maybe Techno should ask a few questions. It looked like Ranboo's tears burned him, which made sense in terms of enderman getting burned by water, but not in terms of sound biological make up. 

Techno turned to him, looking to the enderman's left by habit. 

"Edward."

The enderman  _ vworp _ ed. 

"Do you cry?"

Edward drew his shoulders up in surprise. He shook a bit, which alarmed Techno, but a quick glance showed he was laughing. He shook his head,  _ vworp _ ing a "no." 

So it's a hybrid thing. "Would. Would it hurt if you did?"

Edward stopped laughing, glancing up to the bedroom. He nodded, giving a short "yes." 

Okay. Good to get that confirmed. Ranboo, like him, was a cobbled together mess of genetics. Techno nodded a "thank you," and turned back to the chests. 

He grabbed two cups, crafting two drinks and grabbing some wheat out of a chest to make bread. He worked quickly, baking two loaves and grabbing everything and heading towards the ladder. He brought them upstairs. 

Ranboo was still hunched over, but seemed more put together. When Techno appeared, he looked up. 

Techno lifted the cups in a greeting. "Breakfast."

He placed his cup on the floor next to the empty spot on the bed and passed the other to Ranboo. The kid sniffed at it. 

"It's, uh, hot chocolate," Techno said, reaching over to put a loaf next to Ranboo on the bed. "I wasn't sure how tea would affect you, since it's mostly water, so i made hot chocolate. It's made with milk."

Ranboo looked up at him, not making eye contact. "You didn't have to do that."

"I wanted to." 

Techno sat down next to Ranboo. He ate his loaf of bread slowly as the kid sipped at his drink. Part of it was the residual tiredness of the morning and part of it was that the bread kind of sucked. When Techno finished, he reached over to the ground, picking up his tea. 

Ranboo looked over at the light brown liquid, then back over to his drink. He swirled it around a bit, seeming to get lost in it. 

He took a hand off his drink, grabbing the loaf of bread. He took a bite and made a face. 

Techno laughed. "Yeah, not the best. I never got into baking." 

Ranboo smiled and took another bite. He still grimaced, but it was the thought that counted. 

He finished it pretty quickly, returning to staring at his hot chocolate. Techno sipped his tea. 

"What- uh, what kind of tea do you have?"

Techno looked over to Ranboo. Adjusted to look a bit to the left. "Cornflower," he said. "Its scientific name is Centaurea cyanus, after the Greek word 'kentauros,' or 'centaur,' because there was a centaur named Chiron. He used cornflower to heal wounds, so it's named after him."

Ranboo smiled. "Does it actually heal wounds?"

"Not really, unless your wound's constipation. It's a diuretic." He sipped some more of the tea. "A lot of floral teas are, though."

Ranboo hummed, not quite understanding but seemingly interested. 

Techno finished his drink. He set the cup back on the ground, then leaned onto the wall the bed was against. 

"I feel like I should, uh, talk about my nightmare." Ranboo set his cup down as well. 

"You don't have to. I'm not gonna ask you to explain yourself if it's uncomfortable." 

Ranboo sighed, pulling the blanket over his lap. "Yeah, but I scared you. That's- I want to talk about it."

Techno dropped his head onto the wall. "Uh, talk away, then, I guess."

"I," Ranboo started. "Um, I lose my memory a lot. You probably know that by now, though. But, recently I started, uh, hearing a voice?"

Techno's eyes widened. He forced them to relax again. 

"Which is, uh, a little weird, but it was. It's Dream. He talks, mostly in my panic room, and tells me I'm. Tells me I'm doing horrible things. Like- like blowing up the community house."

At this, he paused, watching Techno for a reaction. When he got none, he continued. 

"And it, uh, spooks me pretty bad every time it happens. I never remember doing those things, but I think I did do them. I think I lose consciousness and, uh, commit atrocities."

Ranboo sighed. "I've started getting nightmares about it."

Techno nodded. "Well, I can't say I really know or care about the community house," he started, reaching out to place a hand on Ranboo's shoulder. "But I do have experience with voices. It sucks and I'm sorry that it's happening to you, kid."

Ranboo sniffed and smiled. "Thanks, I think? That, uh, means a lot to me."

Techno patted his shoulder. He brought his hand up and stretched his arms up, then brought them back down. "Good talk. Emotions over with."

Ranboo laughed, turning his head towards the window. Light shone in.

Techno got up, deciding to check the snow. He climbed down the ladder and looked out a window. He could see the sun, so the snow had melted drastically. He turned and opened the door. 

The snow was only halfway up the door. It had been melting. It was still over a story high, but this meant the storm was over. 

"Snow's melting!" He called up to Ranboo, who cheered. Edward  _ vworp _ ed along with him. 

Techno pulled out his communicator, shooting a text to Phil. 

Technoblade: The snow is melting, you should be able to come home soon. 

Ph1LzA: That's good! I can stop raiding woodland mansions. 

Technoblade: Have you been doing that this whole time

Ph1LzA: yeah, the snow fell fast enough that I couldn't get in the house after taking care of Ranboo's pets. Had to get out. 

Ph1LzA: how's Ranboo?

Technoblade: fine. Kid's growing on me. 

_ AWWWWWW _

_ TECHNODAD _

_ SOFTTTTT _

_ E _

_ EEEEEE _

With that, Techno realized that chat had been quiet almost the whole morning. Huh. 

He grabbed a random book out of his chests and headed back up the ladder to do some light reading in bed. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so, that's it. thats the fic. 
> 
> Sorry for ending it without warning, i just kinda sat down and. finished it? 
> 
> also im well aware that snow doesnt melt that fast, but i wanted the uhhhh symbolism


End file.
